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Panel discusses issues in wake of Charlie Hebdo attack

20150205_CharlieHebdoLecture_TiffanyChen_0627
20150205_CharlieHebdoLecture_TiffanyChen_0627

Professors in the French department discussed the humor found in Charlie Hebdo, a French satire magazine, at a panel discussion on Thursday night.

"It is very literally adding fuel to the fire. This is a newspaper that understands its political responsibility, and its responsibility as a newspaper promoting freedom of expression is to be irresponsible," French assistant professor Katie Chenoweth said, adding that France possesses a long history of political satire and especially satirical cartoons.

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On Jan. 7, Islamist masked gunmen entered Charlie Hebdo's Paris offices, killing 12 people including the head editor, cartoonists and police officers.

The attack came in retaliation for the magazine's publication of cartoons mocking the Muslim prophet Muhammad. Al Qaeda's Yemen branch later claimed responsibility for the shooting, which represented the deadliest terrorist act in France since 1961. In the aftermath of the killings, vigils and demonstrations in support of uncensored speech sparked debates about freedom of expression, religious extremism and tensions among various groups in French society.

The panel's goal was to help create a broader context for thinking about the attack and the issues that have been raised as a result of the attack, Master of Wilson College and English professor Eduardo Cadava said.

Associate Professor of French and Italian Andre Benhaim described Charlie Hebdo as an "anarchist newspaper" that was born in the wake of Marxism.

"They don't discriminate between targets," he said."Any representative of what they abhor — religion, use of power — is a fair target."

Chenoweth provided evidence of Charlie Hebdo cartoons satirizing many religions, including one picture that represented the sacred books of Christianity, Islam and Judaism on rolls of toilet paper.

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However, audience members suggested that Charlie Hebdo's attacks on Islam might be considered more offensive due to Muslims' disadvantaged position.

"It's kind of clear in French society that not all groups are treated equally, and so there shouldn't be legal provisions about how you're not allowed to say this or that about particular groups — but there should be self-imposed rules," Emily Lever '15 said.

Benhaim said the Charlie Hebdo incident points to the greater issue of immigrant assimilation in France, which is home to Europe's largest communities of Muslims, most of whom hail from North Africa, as well as Jews.

Despite their shared experiences, Benhaim noted that Jews often become "the other for the other," meaning targets for Muslims. He added that many Muslims feel rejected by France and respond by rejecting the country, but now feel more and more pressure to integrate into local communities, although he cited several popular television shows and movies as indicative of recent improvements in French attitudes toward both Jews and Muslims, as well as of the groups' relations with each other.

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"No one would test the French identity of these works. The same does not go for part of French literature that is still characterized as Francophone literature, meaning literature that is written in France but not by people who were born in France," he said.

Ironically, the Charlie Hebdo attack revived the declining newspaper, according to Benhaim.

"They were known only by a certain faction of a very small portion of leaders in France, and they were actually economically and [journalistically] saved by those who wanted to kill them after the attacks," Benhaim said.

The magazine released a Jan. 14 "survivors' issue" that sold out across the country and will resume regular publication on Feb. 25.

In considering ways to prevent future incidents like the Charlie Hebdo shooting, Benhaim ultimately advocated for Muslim institutions and leaders to take on a greater role in the issue and to provide the new generation another model to identify with beyond religion. He added that increased representation of minorities will improve circumstances in France.

"The [media] landscape in France is completely foreign to the reality of the French multicultural society," Benhaim said.

Approximately 30 people attended the event, entitled "Charlie Hebdo: Contexts and Conversation,"which took place in Wilson Blackbox on Thursday 7 p.m. as part of the Wilson College Discussion series. The Department of French and Italian co-sponsored the discussion.